Summer Sausage - Step-by-Step Instructions

Grind the Meat - The first step in making delicious summer sausage is to grind the meat with a meat grinder. You will want to use a coarse plate in the meat grinder to make the desired texture. Grind each type of meat, then mix the different meats together. Keep the meat cold until you are ready to smoke your venison summer sausage.

Cure the Ground Meat - Use curing salts, such as InstaCure No. 1 to cure the meat. Add the salt cure mixture into the meat and mix well. Be sure to keep the meat refrigerated while the meat is curing, which will take several days. You will also want to remix the meat at least once a day during the curing process to ensure a full and proper cure.

What Equipment to Use - You can use a meat grinder the that has sausage stuffing attachments, but you can also use a sausage stuffer, which makes the job very easy and convenient.

Smoke the Sausage in a Smoker - Now you are ready to smoke your summer sausage in a meat smoker or smokehouse. Hang the stuffed summer sausage in the smoker or smokehouse and gradually increase the temperature gradually throughout the smoking process. The low temperature in the smoker gently cooks the sausage, preventing the fat from rendering out.

We suggest smoking at 140F for 2 hours, then at 160F for another 2 hours, then at 175F until the internal temperature of the sausage reaches 155F. If your smoker temperature can't reach that low, smoke as close to 175F as you can until the sausage temperature hits 155F.

After smoking, the sausages are rinsed in cold water to chill them and stop the cooking process. They are then dried and ready to be eaten or stored. We recommend storing the sausage in a vacuum sealed bag using a vacuum sealer.

Home Sausage Making Shortcuts -
Shortcuts can be taken by home sausage makers to speed up the process and make it easier. The curing time is often cut short, and the sausages are smoked at a high temperature, or even baked in the oven. These shortcuts affect the texture, flavor and keeping quality of the finished summer sausages.